Gran Canaria, Spain
A commercial pilot used his multilingual skills to outsmart and capture an armed hijacker last week. A Boeing 737 had just taken off from the African country of Mauritania with 79 people on board bound for Spain’s Canary Islands, when a man waving two guns demanded it be rerouted to France, so he could claim asylum. The Arabic-speaking pilot realized the man could not speak French, so he announced over the intercom in French that he planned to trip the hijacker upon landing, by braking hard then speeding up. The plan worked, and the hijacker fell down. Flight attendants then threw boiling water from a coffee machine in his face, and about 10 passengers jumped on him, disarmed him, and beat him.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for February 10Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include halftime hate, the America First Games, and Cupid's woe
-
Why is Prince William in Saudi Arabia?Today’s Big Question Government requested royal visit to boost trade and ties with Middle East powerhouse, but critics balk at kingdom’s human rights record
-
Wuthering Heights: ‘wildly fun’ reinvention of the classic novel lacks depthTalking Point Emerald Fennell splits the critics with her sizzling spin on Emily Brontë’s gothic tale
